Make Believe With Me
by Weasley is my King
Summary: "I have heard that love and make people do crazy things. I can vouch for that, actually." Ron and Hermione. Awww. What can I say? Basically, they see the light. Please read & review. Thanks so much!!


**Make-Believe With Me**   
_ Weasley is my King  
** Disclaimer: I don't own them. (I wish I owned Ron) :o)**_

When I was little I used to listen in while Mum read to Ginny at night. She used to read all of these stories about princesses and princes going off and having a great time and getting married and living "happily ever after." I never really believed any of those stories because, well, they were stories. Simply make-believe. Somehow, though, I always used to listen. I think I liked to hear the stories because the characters that made them so real had everything I guess I always wanted. Like I said, they were princes and princesses. That means that they were wealthy. I'm not saying that being wealthy means happiness and I'm also not saying that money is everything, but I _know_ that money can sometimes help out in a lot of situations. 

Being poor can make someone wish they had all of the money in the world. I would know. 

I wasn't brought up in a family that thought that money made the world go 'round. I have grown up in a family that believes that there is beauty in imperfections, that even broken things can be fixed. I have grown up in a loving family that never once have I felt unloved. I guess that's more than a lot of kids can say, a lot of _people_ can say. Moreover, I have grown up in a family that believes that love is a cure for all things. 

I have heard that love and make people do crazy things. I can vouch for that, actually. 

There's a girl, a girl I've known for a long time. A girl that I am just now seeing as, well, not a girl. She's beautiful. Absolutely breathtaking. Let me tell you this first: not everyone sees her the way I see her. Some people see her just as "the smart girl" or just what type of family she comes from, or even just by the way she looks. But to me she's the smart, beautiful, muggle-born girl that I can't live without. Others may view her as the annoying girl who, in class, raises her hand after every question asked, does all of her homework right on time, over achieves on everything, and stresses about little things, but not me. Some people may view her as a "filthy mud blood," a waste of perfectly good life, a waste of talent, but not me. Some people may view her as the bushy haired, big toothed girl, but not me. 

As for me, I just think she's perfect. And as for the know-it-all attitude she can sometimes have, sometimes it drives me mad, but most of the time I like it. There's just something about it that she would be so… quiet without. As for being a muggle-born, I was raised in a family that believed that people are equal and one should be given the chance to prove their own greatness, and to me she has. As for being bushy haired and big toothed, her hair has calmed down and isn't so wild anymore, not that it would matter though. And since our fourth year at Hogwarts her teeth had decreased in size. Like I said, to me she's perfect. 

It's only fair if you know that I haven't always felt this way. When I first met her I thought she was, to put it simply, mental. First of all, on the train to school, I had sat down with a boy who would become my best friend, Harry Potter. Later, we were talking, having fun, and eating more candy than we could ever actually eat when _she_ came along looking for another boy's toad! I was just about to do a spell to turn my rat, Scabbers, yellow. (Later I would find out that he wasn't really a rat, but that doesn't relate to the story.) Of course, the spell didn't work and she just looked at me, like she was half disappointed and half smirking, as if she was saying that she was secretly better than me. The truth is, our first year at Hogwarts I didn't like her, and I didn't want to, but really happened was during that year without us really knowing it we had become best friends, the three of us. 

Then, in our second year at Hogwarts, I often found myself standing up for her, actually getting upset when someone would say something rude to her or about her. For example, one day during Quidditch practice, she and I were sitting on a bench just talking and the Slytherin house Quidditch team came walking out to the pitch where the Gryffindor house team was supposed to practice. The had gotten a new seeker, someone that the three of us couldn't stand: Draco Malfoy. She said something about talent and then Malfoy said something and called her a mudblood. Before even I knew what I was doing, I had pulled my wand (broken from earlier that year) out of my robes, aimed it at Malfoy, and said "Eat Slugs." Unfortunately, the curse backfired and got me. I was stuck eating, throwing them up rather, slugs… just for her. 

Another time in second year I found myself angry when someone said something awful about her. One time, when we had made the polyjuice potion and Harry and I had become Crabbe and Goyle, we had finally made our way down to the Slytherin common room, with the help of Malfoy, and he said something horrible about her and I wanted to punch him in the face, even more than usual. But I didn't realize how much I liked her until later. 

People became more aware of how I felt about her during our fourth year, maybe just because sticking up for her and making it my business to know what was going on with her became obvious, but more and more people noticed. Still, I didn't exactly know _why_ I was doing all of these things. I guess it just never clicked. Let me just say this: I became jealous. I was jealous because now she wasn't just this girl who was always there for me, she didn't always have my back anymore. And when I needed her, she wasn't there for me. The Yule Ball sticks out in my mind because I needed someone to go with me, and after Neville had pointed it out, I realized that I could take her. It seemed like a completely brilliant plan. The only reason it didn't work out was because she had already been asked. However, I just thought that was a story to decline Neville's invitation nicely, but it was true. She really had a date. And who was it? Viktor Krum. He had practically been my hero. And now he had stolen my… well, he just asked her first. 

I'll bet you are wondering just when did I finally realize how I felt about her, aren't you? Exactly how long did it take to clear the fog? How long did it take for me to see the obvious? Well, the answer is the summer before fifth year. And now I'll bet you're wondering why didn't I tell her or something, right? Well, I have an answer for that as well. The reason is because there was a lot going on and I don't think I was ready. Maybe I chickened out. 

Well, we're all here. The three of us have finally reunited. Sixth Year is coming up and the summer's been flying by with all of the stuff about You-Know-Who's rise and the Order of the Phoenix. I guess I've come to terms with the fact that I do like her. I've also decided that it's only fair to tell her because if anything were to happen to her and I wasn't able to tell her how I felt I don't know what I would do. The same goes with me. If anything happened and I never got the chance to tell her, then I think… well, I would just feel awful. She needs to know. Right? 

*** 

"Alright, Ron?" Harry asked from the other side of the room. 

"Huh? Oh, er, yeah." Ron nodded. He hadn't expected Harry to notice that he was acting differently today, and he also hadn't even noticed that he wasn't the only one in the room. 

"Are you sure?" Ginny asked. 

"Yeah." Ron nodded again. "I was thinking." 

"How did it feel?" Ginny asked, smiling at her own humor. Sometimes Ron could be such an easy target. 

Ron's ears turned pink even though he smiled sarcastically at his sister's lame humor. 

"What were you thinking about?" Ginny asked, prying into Ron's mind. "About a girl?" 

"No." Ron said forcefully. He glared at his sister. "You wish." He muttered. 

"I beg your pardon?" Ginny smiled as she looked at Harry, who had a smile on his face as well. After she looked at Harry, she looked to Hermione, who had stayed quiet the entire time because she was reading. Ginny looked back at her brother. 

"Just because you're constantly thinking about the opposite sex doesn't mean that everyone else in the room has the same tendencies." 

"Oh." Ginny said softly, pretending to feel defeated. "How inconsiderate of me." Ginny had a wicked grin cross her face. "Were you thinking about a _boy?"_

"No!" Ron said louder than he needed to. By now Hermione had stopped reading and had taken to watching the two fiery red-haired siblings fight with each other. "Go away." 

"If I bother you so much why don't _you_ just leave?" 

"Because I was here first." Ron huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. 

"Oh good." Ginny half laughed. "I was confused. I thought you were going to be mature and act your age." 

"Oh come off it." Ron snarled. 

"I'm serious." Ginny said. "If you're going to pout here in your stupid chair waiting for all of us to leave so you can go back to thinking about whatever it was you were thinking about it, then you might as well leave because we're not going to." she snapped and sat up on the couch that she shared with Harry. 

"I wasn't pouting." 

Ginny sighed deeply and shook her head. 

"You're so annoying." Ron said, his last attempt to make her leave. 

"You are _so_ thick!" Ginny exploded. "You should just leave the room. If you would just grow up you wouldn't have to fight with me all the time." Ginny, somehow, had gotten extremely worked up. Somehow, she had gotten so angry she had stood up and stalked over to where he was sitting. 

"If you would just take a look around you would see that there's someone right in front of you that would do anything for you, not because she would have to, but because she's that kind of person and because she likes you. If you would just open your eyes and realize that there's someone out there for you, someone really, really great, then you wouldn't be so annoying. If you weren't so thick everyone around you wouldn't be so annoyed because you'd know how the two of you felt. And you!" Ginny whipped around and stared at Hermione, "You. If you would just get it over with and tell him there wouldn't be any secrets and there wouldn't be anything to hide. It would all be over! Do you realize what the two of you are doing? Just tell him how you-" Ginny, for the first time, realized what she was doing. She was yelling for no reason and what she was yelling at the two of them for didn't even relate to what she and Ron were yelling about in the first place. Ginny noticed that Hermione's cheeks had turned pink and her eyes were now shining because of tears. 

"Oh, Hermione." Ginny said softly, calming down completely. "I'm so sorry." 

Only it was too late for 'sorry.' Hermione had grabbed her book, stood up and made a beeline to the stairs. Ginny followed close behind her and when she was half way up Hermione turned around and said, "Leave me alone." She wiped her eyes and sniffled. "You've done enough." 

Ginny walked slowly back to her seat on the couch and shook her head. "I didn't mean to." She said softly to Harry as she looked into his green eyes. 

"I know." Harry nodded sympathetically, noticing that her eyes looked so sad. 

"She hates me." 

"She doesn't hate you." Harry told her with a crooked smile. "I'll go talk to her." Harry shifted in his seat and moved to stand up. 

Ginny reached for his wrist and shook her head. "I really think you should give her a few minutes. She's upset." 

"Exactly." Harry nodded, using his other hand to free himself from her grasp. "That's why I should just go up there and talk to her." 

Ginny shook her head again. "No." She sighed. "Trust me. When _I'm_ really upset it's better to just be alone for a few minutes. Just give her a few minutes. Please." 

"Okay." Harry nodded and sat down. "Okay." 

Ginny kind of smiled. "Thanks." 

Ron couldn't believe that the two of them had completely forgotten that he was in the room. He had a feeling he had just witnessed a special Harry/Ginny moment, but right now he didn't care. The girl he thought he loved was upstairs probably crying her eyes out because his own sister had embarrassed her. "You two are just going to sit here and do nothing while she's up there all alone and… upset?" Ron asked. 

Neither Ginny nor Harry said anything. 

"I cannot believe this. Ginny, you, you're the one who did this. You're the one who made her so upset. The whole reason she's up there is because of you and your big mouth. And Harry, she has always, _always_ been there for you whenever you needed her and now, when she's the one who needs someone, you're down here doing nothing?" 

"Well, Ginny said-" 

"I don't care _what_ Ginny said." Ron shouted and stood up. "Someone's got to do _something!"_ Ron ran up the stairs as quickly as his long legs would carry him. He knocked lightly on the door which Hermione was behind. 

"Hermione, it's me." Ron said softly. "Open the door. Come on." 

"Go away." She said quietly but loud enough that whoever was on the other side of the door could hear her. 

Ron knocked lightly again, but didn't say anything. 

"Leave me alone." She sniffled as she scooted closer to the door. 

"Please?" Ron asked, his last attempt to get Hermione to open the door. 

Hermione was silent for a moment. She knew he knew that the door wasn't locked. She knew he knew because she saw him twist the doorknob. He knew that he could open the door himself. 

"It's open." She finally said. 

"I know that." Ron said through the door. "Can I come in." 

"Yeah." Hermione leaned against the end of the bed that she had been sleeping in. 

Ron opened the door slowly and stepped through. He shout the door quietly behind him and sat down next to her on the floor. Neither one said anything for a while. 

"I don't know why I'm so upset." Hermione finally said. She kind of laughed, but it was rather pathetic because she still was kind of crying. 

Ron wasn't quiet sure what to say. 

"I mean, I guess it's pretty obvious." 

"What's obvious?" Ron asked. 

"You… me." She said, shrugging. "The two of us." The were quiet again. "I guess I've just been waiting for something to happen, but nothing ever came so I've just been waiting." 

"Wait." Ron said. "Ginny, she… what she said was real?" Ron didn't look at Hermione, not that she would've looked at him. 

"I thought that maybe someday, someday soon, something would happen." 

"I didn't know-" 

"I began to think that I had just imagined everything-" 

"If I'd have known-" 

"Then maybe there was someone else-" 

"Never-" 

"Nothing ever happened-" 

"I should've known." 

"But I wanted it so badly that I just waited until you were ready." 

Hermione had stopped staring into space. She had realized that she had just said mostly everything. Ron knew now that she liked him. She felt embarrassed. She stole a glance at Ron, who was staring straight ahead. 

"I have wanted to have something happen between us too." 

"Really?" Hermione asked quietly and shifted on the floor to face him. 

Ron just nodded. 

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" Hermione asked. 

"Because I didn't think you'd ever think of me that way." He admitted. "And for a while I denied ever thinking of you that way." 

Hermione nodded. "I denied it too." 

There was an awkward silence. Hermione always thought that once they both knew how they felt about each other that there wouldn't be an awkward moment between the two again. 

"Well, I'm glad you stopped crying." Ron said and moved to stand up. 

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked at once and stood up also. 

"I was going to go back downstairs." He said and pointed at the door. 

"Oh." 

"Unless you… unless you're not okay." 

"I'm fine." 

"Good." Ron said and walked towards the door. Hermione sat on the bed. 

Just as Ron pulled open the door Hermione spoke, bringing Ron back inside the room. "When I was little my mom used to read to me before I went to bed." She said simply. "Fairytales mostly. I really liked hearing them. I always wished that someday someone would love me as much as those princes loved the princesses. But later I realized that they weren't real. It was just make-believe." 

Ron didn't say anything. He wasn't about to admit that he liked to listen to his mother read his sister those stories. 

"The thing is, Ron…." Hermione let her sentence linger. "I think I love you." 

Ron nodded. and swallowed hard. He had never heard anyone say they loved him other than his family. 

"Do you love me?" Hermione asked just barely above a whisper. 

Ron walked across the room and stood in front of Hermione. "I think so." 

Hermione stood up and wrapped her arms around Ron's neck. "I've been waiting a long time for you." 

"Sorry 'bout that." Ron blushed, wrapping his arms around her. It once felt awkward to do that, but now it felt natural. Natural and good. 

"Will you make-believe with me?" 

Ron smiled widely. "Of course I will." 

*** 

Okay, so maybe I'm not that crazy. 

I didn't think anything could beat that moment, but I was wrong. 

Nothing will ever beat the first time her lips ever touched mine. And you know what else? Every time after the first time feels like the first time all over again. And I love it. I love her. 

** The End.**


End file.
